It was just
another working shift for Motor Officers Kronschnabel
and La Niece as they proceeded to the intersection
of 23rd and Main Streets. This particular intersection
had been established as a problem, with violators
driving on 23rd Street colliding with vehicles
on Main Street. The officers had just gotten into
position on Main Street, when they observed a
vehicle westbound on 23rd Street cut the corner
and proceed southbound on Main. Officer Kronschnabel
told his partner to remain at his location while
he cited the violator. After the suspect’s
vehicle turned westbound on 24th Street, Officer
Kronschnabel pulled along side and began to tell
the driver to pull over. As the vehicle slowed
to a stop, the driver leaned out of the window
and fired one shot, striking Officer Kronschnabel.
He fell from his motorcycle into the street while
the suspect’s vehicle drove away.

Officer Kronschnabel, assigned
to the special "speed detail," died
of a single gunshot wound. The assailant at the
time was unknown, but the subsequent investigation
revealed the following events that lead up to
the shooting.

On the evening of December
16, 1916 Loma Allred, age 13, was walking home
from the corner store, when she saw a gas jitney
pull to the curb. A man got out with a gun in
his hand and after tying and blindfolding her,
forced her into the vehicle. Once she was inside
the vehicle it drove away and had traveled just
a short distance when she heard another vehicle
draw alongside. A few seconds later, she heard
a shot. After the shot the vehicle started up
and proceeded to Vernon and Van Ness Avenues,
where the suspects loosened her binds and put
her out of the car. One of the suspects gave her
a dime for carfare, and as they drove away, she
was able to see the license number. Shortly thereafter,
she boarded the Vernon Avenue streetcar and told
the conductor what had happened to her. He notified
the officers at University Station (now Southwest
Division).

Officer La Niece told investigators
that he and Kronschnabel had been at the intersection
of 23rd Street and Main for only a short time
when a gas jitney turned south on Main from 23rd.
The driver of the jitney was driving like he was
drunk. Kronschnabel told him to wait there for
other violators and he would "take care of
this one." He observed his partner follow
the jitney as it turned west on 24th Street. He
then heard what he thought was a car backfiring
and thought it was the suspect’s vehicle
when it stopped. (Cars of this period had a spark
advance on the steering column and would backfire
when the driver let up on the gas pedal.) Officer
La Niece was unaware of the tragic events until
the police ambulance drove past him and turned
onto 24th Street. With curious apprehension, he
followed and arrived just in time to see them
loading his partner into the ambulance. Officer
La Niece told investigators that the suspect’s
vehicle was a dark-colored, seven-passenger model
with the top up and it had side curtains. He was
unable to see how many people were in the car
but thought that only the front seat was occupied
and that the car was either a Studebaker or an
Overland.

The investigators, according
to newspaper articles, were Chief of Police Butler
and Detective Lieutenant Home. They were informed
that the conductor of the Vernon Avenue streetcar
had placed the original call to the University
Police Station. This person had also supplied
the police with the license number 185229, that
had been given to him by a 13 year old girl named
Loma Allred. This information regarding the suspect’s
vehicle was put out over the "game well system"
as well as in person to all officers. (There were
no police radios at this time).

The investigators speculated
that the suspects responsible could very well
be one of a gang of men infesting jitney busses
throughout the city; kidnapping and robbing young
women. Investigators interviewed the Allred girl
and were able to obtain additional information.
According to the victim, the suspects took her
groceries and the gun used in the shooting and
proceeded to bury them at different locations.
She was able to take the officers to the locations
where these items were recovered.

Investigators were notified
that Patrolman Ackley, in a borrowed car, had
stopped the vehicle bearing license number 185229
at Thirty-sixth Street and Main and arrested five
occupants. The suspects were transported to police
headquarters and gave their names as James Hawthorne,
who was believed to be on parole for burglary,
Dewey Captan, James B. Edward, Gray Minzer and
Ed Brown. The vehicle used in the kidnapping was
determined to have been rented by one of the suspects.

Investigators were able
to trace the found weapon through pawnshop tickets
to a Walter Anderson, who was located working
as a switchyard brakeman. He admitted loaning
the gun to a James Burchill, who had escaped from
the vehicle used in the kidnapping and fled to
Mexico. Assistance from detectives in the San
Francisco Police Department resulted in obtaining
additional information, as well as photos of the
suspect, also known as James Darwin. This information
led investigators to the wife of Burchill who
told them about several tattoos on his arm with
the names, Madeline, Hazel, and Anna. This information
would later prove instrumental in helping investigators
identify Burchill.

It was almost three years
later, in 1918, that LAPD detectives received
information that James Burchill had been arrested
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania under the alias, James
Melley. He was in custody for the shooting death
of Edward R. Pry. His arrest and identification
resulted in a legal battle to have him brought
back to Los Angeles for trial. The authorities
in Pittsburgh questioned Burchill and they were
able to obtain a confession from him in the killing
of Officer Kronschnabel. Burchill was convicted
on May 5, 1919 for the murder of Edward Pry and
sentenced to serve 20 years in prison. The authorities
in Los Angeles vowed to be waiting at the prison
gates to serve papers on Burchill the day he was
released.

Twenty years later, on May
6, 1939 James Burchill (a.k.a. James Melley, and
James Darwin), identified as being responsible
for the death of Officer Kronschnabel, walked
out of Western Penitentiary in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
a "free man," or so he thought.

As he walked from the prison’s
front gate, Detective Lieutenant Emmet E. Jones
of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Homicide
Bureau was there to greet him. As Burchill was
enjoying his first thirty seconds of freedom,
Detective Jones promptly snapped a pair of handcuffs
on him as they met. Twenty-three years after the
senseless shooting death of Officer Kronschnabel,
the LAPD finally had his killer.

Burchill was returned to
Los Angeles to stand trial for Officer Kronschnabel’s
murder. On July 20, 1939 a jury found Burchill
guilty of murder. The District Attorney, U.U.
Blalock asked for the death penalty, but Burchill
was instead, sentenced to life in prison.

Officer Thomas D. Kronschnabel
was born on December 22, 1879 in Benton, Minnesota.
He migrated West and joined the Los Angeles Police
Department on November 2, 1904. Eight years later,
Kronschnabel passed the exam for the "speed
squad," as a motor officer. Officer Kronschnabel
was 37 years of age and a 12-year veteran of the
LAPD at the time of his death. His wife and a
baby daughter survived him.

Officer Kronschnabel represents
the proud traditions of the Los Angeles Police
Department, which survive today in each and every
officer of the Department. Officers such as Thomas
Kronschnabel should never be forgotten after making
the ultimate sacrifice for the citizens of Los
Angeles.